Old Forge and Scranton Prep will try to extend their unbeaten streaks and the fall sports season for District 2 Saturday when they hit the road for Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state football quarterfinal games.
Both teams will play neutral site games against opponents that are also unbeaten.
Old Forge heads to Danville to face District 4 champion Canton in Class A at 1 p.m. The game is a true neutral site, nearly equidistant from the two schools.
Scranton Prep goes into Wyomissing’s territory to face the District 3 champion at Governor Mifflin High School in Shillington at 2 p.m. in Class 3A. Wyomissing, which was eligible for a possible home game under the PIAA’s rules for first-round state games this year, is two miles from Governor Mifflin while Scranton Prep will have a drive of more than 100 miles.
There are comparisons available between the teams, which have never met.
Canton went to Hanover Area for a 60-7 rout two weeks after the Hawkeyes played at Old Forge and lost, 54-0.
Wyomissing defeated Southern Columbia, 41-21, two weeks after the Tigers defeated Wyoming Area, 37-30. Scranton Prep shut out Wyoming Area, 28-0, in last week’s District 2 championship game.
Old Forge has dominated 11 opponents, outscoring them 298-27 in the first half, 365-27 for the first three quarters and 431-73 overall.
James Sobol has been a 73-percent passer with a lot of early decisions and short nights keeping him from putting up cumulative numbers to match his impressive 13.63 average gain per attempt, 20-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio and completion percentage. He also has 437 yards and 7 touchdown on 64 carries.
The Blue Devils have spread the ball around with 5 players rushing for between 246 and 708 yards on between 18 and 79 carries and 5 players with between 7 and 22 receptions for 136 to 454 yards.
Josh Spindler and Casey Holzman make the lists of both rushers and receivers. Spindler has 61 carries for 567 yards and 7 touchdowns. Holzman has a team-high 22 catches for 394 yards and 5 touchdowns.
Hezekiah Deitz is the leading rusher with 708 yards and 9 touchdowns on 79 carries. Ethan Tallo has team-highs of 454 yards and 6 touchdowns receiving on 20 catches.
Angelo Fumanti and John Greenfield are 1-2 on the team in tackles. Josh Spindler is third on the team in tackles and tied with Cyllel Rose for the lead in tackles for losses. Rose and Fumanti share the lead of four sacks each.
Canton is coming off a 32-27 victory over defending state champion Steelton-Highspire, the team that eliminated Old Forge in an untimed down to end last year’s game.
Riley Parker, who has 1,224 yards rushing on the season, ran for 138 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead the victory.
The Warriors have scored at any even higher rate than Old Forge, averaging 41.6 per game. The state playoff win over Steelton-Highspire was only the second time in 12 games that Canton allowed more than 10 points. It has outscored opponents, 499-91.
Scranton Prep (11-0) is led by the running of London Montgomery and a defense that has posted its first two shutouts back-to-back in the playoffs. The Cavaliers have allowed just 18 points in the last 4 games even though they met state Class 4A quarterfinalist Valley View during that stretch.
Montgomery has averaged 12.3 yards per carry while rushing for 2,353 yards and 35 touchdowns.
Mike Golay, usually Montgomery’s lead blocker from the fullback position, is the team’s leading tackler, followed by Mick O’Malley, Aidan Colleran and Andrew Durkin.
Robert Rossi, the leader in interceptions, is also the top receiver, averaging 24 yards while turning his 24 catches into 9 touchdowns.
Sean Monahan, who ran and passed for touchdowns in last week’s 28-0 District 2 championship game shutout of 2019 state champion Wyoming Area, is not called on often, but completes 62.7 percent of his passes and averages more than 8 yards per carry.
The Lackawanna Football Conference Division 2 and District 2 Class 3A champion Cavaliers, who have outscored opponents by an average of 42.4-9.6 in their 11 wins, have not allowed a point in the last 114:31 or a touchdown in the last 126:37.
Wyomissing has outscored its 13 opponents by an average of 45.7-8.2 and has averaged 48.6 points over the past 7 games, including a 55-14 rout of Boiling Springs in last week’s District 3 final.
Fullback Thomas Grabowski led a 430-yard ground attack in the district final, running for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns.
The 2012 state Class 2A champions have won the last three District 2 titles in Class 3A, including last season when the Spartans reached the state final, only to lose to Central Valley, 35-21.
Wyomissing is led up front by 6-foot-5, 300-pound junior Jven Williams, who already has scholarship offers from Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Pitt and West Virginia, among others.
Aiden Mack, a 6-4, 220-pound tight end, has already committed to play National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I football at Richmond.
Scranton Prep’s Montgomery, also a junior, has received scholarship offers from Connecticut, Arizona State, Old Dominion and Bowling Green in recent weeks.
